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Florida Biologix spins off from University of Florida

November 19, 2015

Joe Kays

Ampersand Capital provides Growth Equity to Expand Business

Florida Biologix, a contract development and manufacturing organization focused on complex biological products, has been spun off from the University of Florida to FB2 Services Inc., a newly formed entity that will continue to operate as Florida Biologix.

FB2 is backed by an investment from Ampersand Capital Partners a Massachusetts-based private equity firm with extensive experience in the contract manufacturing of complex biologics. Ampersand’s investment will be used to further expand the company’s manufacturing capabilities in the areas of gene and cell therapies.

Under the deal FB2/Florida Biologix will continue to manufacture complex biopharmaceutical products in the existing Progress Park facility and lease UF facilities on Innovation Drive in Alachua

Florida Biologix was established in 2006 as a component of the UF Center of Excellence for Regenerative Health Biotechnology with a mission to provide drug development services to the biotechnology industry. The state of Florida, the University of Florida and the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration provided the center with seed funding as part of Florida’s effort to grow its biotechnology industry.

Florida Biologix will continue to operate out of its existing Progress Park facility and will lease UF facilities on Innovation Drive in Alachua. Most of the more than 100 UF Florida Biologix employees have joined FB2, including founding director Richard Snyder and all of the senior scientific team. In addition, new members have been added to the senior team.

“After surveying the contract development and manufacturing services industry that focuses on complex biologics, we are very excited to be acquiring Florida Biologix,” FB2 CEO Tim Martin said. “The company has extensive expertise in a wide array of biopharmaceutical products with an emphasis on the emerging area of gene and cellular therapy.”

David Day, assistant vice president and director of UF’s Office of Technology Licensing, said, “What started as a division of a UF center is now a flourishing private company with more than 100 employees delivering cutting edge science to some of the most innovative biotechnology companies in the world.”

David Norton, UF’s vice president for research, said the spin-off is just the outcome the university strives for.

“This is exactly what we want to happen with an initiative like this,” he said. “We nurtured Florida Biologix until it was able to operate successfully on its own, now we’re handing it off to the private sector.”

David Anderson, partner at Ampersand, called Florida Biologix a leading company in its field.

”Given the exciting developments within the complex biologics market, this is an excellent time for UF to pass the stewardship to the private sector,” Anderson said. “We are looking forward to working with the team at Florida Biologix to accelerate and continue its success and leadership”.

Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with a focus on growth equity investments in the healthcare sector. Over the past two decades, Ampersand has managed $1 billion in private equity partnerships. Ampersand leverages its unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Additional information about Ampersand is available at www.ampersandcapital.com.